Jillia Ceramics: Small batch handmade pottery inspired by the beauty of the PA Wilds
Jillia Ceramics: Small batch handmade pottery inspired by the beauty of the PA Wilds
Lycoming County | PA Wilds I-80 Frontier Landscape
Meet Jillia English, the ceramic artist behind Jillia Ceramics. Jillia Ceramics is located in the community of Williamsport, which is located conveniently along the I-80 Frontier and Pine Creek Valley and PA Grand Canyon landscapes of the PA Wilds region.
You will often find Jillia working in her private basement studio creating one of a kind ceramic pieces.
Jillia’s artistic journey began in 2008 when she first touched clay in an art class at Williamsport Area High School, and her passion for ceramics has stayed with her ever since. In 2022, she transitioned from being a graphic designer to a full-time ceramic artist. Her studio operates without molds, slip casting, slab rollers, or extruders – everything is crafted by hand on her pottery wheel, which makes each creation a one-of-a-kind piece.
Being both an artist and an outdoor enthusiast, Jillia is able to pull inspiration from her outdoor adventures and the natural surroundings of the PA Wilds. She creates unique nature-inspired pieces with features like rolling hills, tree lines and water themes. She even incorporates the colors and textures of nature into her ceramic pieces. Although each creation is a work of art, her ceramics aren’t created with only aesthetics in mind. Jillia strives to create pieces that can be utilized in day to day life with the hopes that each creation is a reminder of your own adventures.
You can get a sneak peek into Jillia’s daily creative process through the short video she created for the 2022 PA Wilds Makers Market. In the video, Jillia takes you from the beginning stages of preparing the clay to glazing and even to packing her van for vendor shows.
For even more insights into her work, you can visit her online gallery at JilliaCeramics.com or by her maker store front on ShopthePAWilds.com to shop her showcase of diverse ceramic work.
Photo & Video Credit: Jillia English
Jillia Ceramics is a Professional Level Juried Artisan under the Creative Maker member in the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania. Learn more about Jillia Ceramics and leave them a review or recommendation on their WCO profile.
RECENT WCO MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
- Full Circle Bioconversion LLC: Turning food waste into a business
As a child, the Pennsylvania woods were Aubrey Fornwalt’s playground and the stream was her pool. After a life change in 2016 led her back to her childhood home in Lycoming County, Fornwalt took a risk and bought some black soldier flies for a composting business, taking inspiration from the woods and insects she loved as a child. Two years later, it grew into what would become Full Circle Bioconversion, based in the city of Williamsport in the Pine Creek Valley and PA Grand Canyon landscape and I-80 Frontier landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds region. - Blackbird Distillery: Making shine and making friends
Not too many businesses can say they create their product completely from start to finish, but the folks at Blackbird Distillery can! Located in Brookville along the I-80 Frontier landscape and the Cook Forest and the Ancients landscape within the Pennsylvania Wilds, Blackbird Distillery is a one-of-a-kind place that takes pride in showing visitors the magic of how their product is made. - Judy Schrader: Creating small, but very mighty art
Judy Schrader’s love for art began when she was just a child, and it soon grew into a lifetime of creation. Based in Warren County in the Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds, her art has ranged from boundless wilderness scenes to miniature details of the wonders of nature.